This invention relates to a computer-implemented tool for selecting materials, and, more particularly, to the content of a computer-accessed data base of materials.
Materials have traditionally been selected for use in manufacturing on the basis of their suitability for accomplishing a required physical or chemical function, and their purchase cost. Safety, environmental effect, and related issues are usually considered, but only as to how they might affect the usage of the material after selection. For example, procedures for the use of a particular material often address environmental matters by indicating proper methods for disposing of excess material or its reaction products.
In recent years the concern about the effects of hazardous materials on the environment has increased, requiring that manufacturers of products devote their attention to this Issue. The proper disposal of hazardous materials aids in minimizing the adverse impacts of manufacturing operations on the environment. On the other hand, an even more effective approach is to reduce the demand for hazardous materials disposal by avoiding the use of such materials.
Studies have indicated that in some instances manufacturing standards unnecessarily require the use of hazardous materials, when non-hazardous materials might function adequately for a particular need. In some other cases, at the present state of manufacturing technology it is unfortunately not possible to eliminate materials having an adverse environmental impact entirely from many manufacturing operations. However, even in these situations studies suggest that the environmental impact of manufacturing can be reduced by carefully avoiding unnecessary disposal of hazardous materials.
An example is helpful in illustrating the possibilities for reducing unnecessary disposal of hazardous materials. High-performance curable adhesives have a finite shelf life, after which they must be discarded as unusable. A typical large manufacturing operation can produce many types of parts or products for many different customers, some of which have their own product requirements. Such a large scale operation may involve manufacturing procedures which, when considered individually, require that the manufacturer stock, for example, ten different adhesives, some of which are used often and some of which are used occasionally. The adhesives are purchased and stocked in at least minimum quantities, regardless of how often they are used. If some of the seldom-used adhesives become unusable through expiration of their shelf lives, the unusable portion must be disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner.
Careful control of inventory can reduce the amount of adhesive that becomes unusable through expiration, but the present invention is not concerned with business practices of that type. On the other hand, if the number of adhesives which must be stocked could be reduced to some smaller number, say three, all of which are used frequently, by careful materials selection, it is less likely that any of the adhesive material would become unusable through expiration of its shelf life, thereby reducing the amount of hazardous waste that must be disposed of. It is certainly preferable to avoid having to dispose of the waste at all, rather than being concerned solely with its proper disposal. Many other examples can be cited in which careful attention to the interrelation of the characteristics of materials and engineering design can reduce the need to dispose of hazardous materials used in the manufacturing operations.
In large scale industrial manufacturing operations, the numbers of different materials, applications, materials utilization procedures, and manufacturing specifications from different customers is often so great that it is a practical impossibility to integrate hazardous waste minimization efforts with the engineering program. These issues to be considered often change as improved materials are discovered, or as specifications change to meet new needs and requirements, for example. Those responsible for engineering, design, and manufacturing simply cannot keep track of the many materials, procedures, and specifications (and their changes) so that informed materials selections can be made.
There is a need for an improved approach to integrating environmental waste minimization into product design and manufacturing operations. Such an approach should be capable of great flexibility in use and be readily understood by those who use it. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.